AK Steel plans to begin layoffs at its plant in Ashland, Ky., during the week of Christmas. Scott Conley, President of USW Local 1865 said 615 to 620 people will be laid off and everyone should be out of the hot end of the plant by December 31. AK Steel executives blame the layoffs on […]
Allegheny Technologies announced it will take rightsizing actions to align its Flat Rolled Products operations to challenging market conditions. The standard stainless melt shop and sheet finishing operations at the Midland, Pa., facility will be idled in January 2016. The grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) operations in Bagdad, Pa., will be idled by April 2016. Restart […]
The United Steelworkers Bargaining Committee will return to Pittsburgh to review a new comprehensive contract proposal received from US Steel. Discussions during the past six months have bogged down over health care concessions that the company says are necessary to stay competitive under challenging market conditions. The Bargaining Committee plans to resume discussions next week […]
Layoffs at US Steel Granite City Works are expected to begin December 27, according to reports by USW leaders in the Dec. 10 Bellville News-Democrat. US Steel announced in October that it was considering idling the steel plant in Granite City and issued WARN notices to over 2000 workers. Shortly before Thanksgiving the company confirmed […]
The House passed the long-awaited customs bill by a 256-158 margin on Friday. The conference report of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (H.R.644) includes the ENFORCE act that provides new measures sought after by the steel industry to address evasion of antidumping and countervailing duties. The bill will head to the Senate for […]
Nucor Steel lost again its challenge to Big River Steel’s air permit. In its latest appeal, Nucor argued that the air permit process was flawed and that not enough consideration was given to pollution that Big River Steel would generate. An Arkansas Court of Appeals said on Wednesday that it found no abuse of discretion […]
The USW met with workers at Cliffs Natural Resources in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to discuss warnings by the company of potential increases in health care premiums for retirees. A letter sent to retired workers by Cliffs in November contained rate increases that the USW believes to be incorrectly calculated. The union has not been able […]
The Canada Border Services Agency has made final determinations that dumping has occurred on hot-rolled carbon steel plate and high-strength low-alloy steel plate originating in or exported from India and Russia and subsidizing on hot-rolled carbon steel plate and high-strength low-alloy steel plate originating in or exported from India. The investigation on subsidizing from Russia […]
The Nexteer Automotive strike was called off after just one day. A second tentative agreement was reached on Tuesday night, Dec. 8 and workers at UAW Local 699 were told to resume their scheduled shifts. The first tentative contract was rejected by an overwhelming majority of workers at the company which produces steering and driveline […]
Chinese exported 101.7 million metric tons, or 112 million short tons, of steel in the first 11 months of 2015, according to customs data reported by Bloomberg. Exports increased by 22 percent year over year, almost as much as the total annual capacity of U.S. steel mills of 120 million tons. As China’s economic slowdown […]
AISI and eight other steel associations met with government officials in Paris on December 1 to present arguments against granting China Market Economy status. The press release from AISI follows: PARIS – The American Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Canadian Steel Producers Association, CANACERO (the Mexican steel association), Alacero (the Latin […]
The Dodge Momentum Index dropped 3.7 percent to 119.9 in the November report from Dodge Data and Analytics. The index spiked in July and September but lost construction planning momentum in October and November. The index is now more consistent with the “gentle upward trend in planning activity that began in 2012” says Dodge. Commercial […]
A strike is in effect for 3,200 UAW workers at Nexteer Automotive after 97 percent of the membership voted against a tentative agreement on Sunday. The union and Nexteer exchanged proposals on Monday but could not come to a compromise before the 11:59 p.m. deadline. Nexteer expressed frustration over the decision to strike after negotiating […]
A Delaware judge invalidated a patent by ArcelorMittal in a ruling favoring AK Steel in a dispute that has been ongoing for almost six years. The original suit, filed in January 2010 by ArcelorMittal, claimed that AK Steel’s lightweight, high-strength steel Ultralume, used in automotive applications, violated ArcelorMittal’s 2001 patent (patent 6,296,805—referred to as ‘805) […]
The following article was written by Xavier Boucherat and appeared in the Q4 2015 issue of Automotive Megatrends Magazine and is being reprinted by Steel Market Update with permission. It may be lighter, but aluminium is fundamentally a quick fix, and OEMs currently using aluminium will convert those parts back to steel to reduce mass […]
Navigation for freighters on the Great Lakes is winding to a close. This winter is expected to be warmer which may mean less ice on the Lakes and fewer delays of ore to mills when the shipping season reopens. The past two winters saw unusually high levels of ice coverage that persisted into April and […]
Mexican steelmaker, TYASA will begin construction of a Castrip facility at its Ixtaczoquitlan site near Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico. The excess melt capacity of TYASA’s Quantum Furnace will supply the Castrip thin-strip casting process. TYASA expects the new facility to have a production capacity of 500,000 tons of thin-gauge, high-strength, sheet steel that will supply local […]
Essar Steel Minnesota met a deadline set by Governor Mark Dayton to repay $66 million in incentives owed the state after failing to complete a $1.9 billion integrated iron ore-to-steel mill. The governor gave Essar a deadline of Friday, December 4, to make payments to vendors on the project and provide assurances that future debts […]
A law suit filed by Cliffs Natural Resources against Essar Steel Algoma was dismissed without prejudice on Dec. 3 by the Court for the Northern District of Ohio, in recognition of Algoma’s current CCAA proceedings. The ruling includes the suit filed on January 12, 2015 by Cliffs for US $90 million and Essar Steel Algoma’s […]
USW workers received a letter from ArcelorMittal over the Thanksgiving holiday indicating that retiree premium contributions may be increased early next year. The overall purpose of the letter was to announce the open enrollment period for 2016, but the letter’s language was troubling to members. The USW sent an update reassuring workers that protections and […]
US Steel announced that Vice President – Service Center Solutions Geoff Turk will pursue other opportunities following the transition of the commercial entities during the realignment of its flat-rolled operations. Turk will lead the integration of the Industrial and Service Center Solutions teams and leave US Steel following completion of that project in first quarter […]
U.S. auto sales reached 1.32 million vehicles in November, a 1.4 percent increase. The seasonally adjusted annual rate according to WardsAuto, was 18.12 million vehicles, the third consecutive month above a SAAR of 18 million units. WardsAuto estimates that December sales will have to reach 1.7 million units to get a fourth consecutive month at […]
Global manufacturing was lackluster in November according to the Global Manufacturing PMI produced by JP Morgan and Markit Economics. The headline index registered 51.2, barely changed from 51.3 in October. Commenting on the survey, David Hensley, Director of Global Economic Coordination at JP Morgan, said: “The global manufacturing PMI survey registered a second consecutive improvement […]
US Steel Corp is realigning its flat-rolled operations and management as part of its Carnegie Way transformation. The flat-rolled facilities will report through three consolidated commercial entities: Automotive Solutions, Consumer Solutions, and Industrial, Service Center and Mining Solutions. “The commercial entities have worked to position our company to be best-in-class in innovation, customer service and […]
Steel imports in October accelerated from September but were down by one-third from year ago levels, according to the latest import data analysis from the American Institute for International Steel. The press release from AIIS follows. Falls Church, VA. December 1, 2015. Steel imports increased in October, following two months of sharp declines. The United […]
In early November, nine steel associations released a statement expressing their opposition to China’s bid to become a market economy by December 2016. In a November 25 rebuttal, the Chinese Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said it is “astonished” by the group’s claims that China is primary global contributor to steel overcapacity. CISA called the […]
The Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) released its November 2015 Business Conditions Report this week. The survey of 111 PMA members in the U.S. and Canada indicates that manufacturers are expecting steady economic conditions during the next three months. Incoming orders are expected to remain at the current rate with 32 percent forecasting an increase in […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum has reached an agreement to purchase all of the outstanding capital stock of Tubular Steel, Inc., a distributor of carbon, alloy and stainless steel pipe, tubing and bar products. Tubular Steel is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri and has eight service center locations across the U.S. TSI net sales for 2014 […]
The Chicago Business Barometer, or Chicago PMI as it is commonly called, fell 7.5 points in November to 48.7. A decline in new orders put the Index back into contraction for its sixth time this year. The index, an indicator of business demand in the Chicago area, has been volatile throughout 2015 giving less credence […]
Essar Steel Algoma is asking that courts in Ontario and Delaware order Cliffs Natural Resources to reinstate shipments of ore that were terminated two months ago. Cliffs canceled its contract with Essar Steel Algoma in October claiming breach of contract and triggering Essar Algoma’s filing for CCAA protection. The steel mill is concerned that it […]